


Where It All Went Wrong

by axolotlNerd



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party (Band), Skyhill (Band), Starbomb (Band), The Northern Hues (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Bad Decisions, Car Accidents, F/M, I'm warning you, Mentions of Suicide, Possibly Future Non-Con, Suicidal Thoughts, This isn't gonna be fun for y'all, Zombie Apocalypse, at LEAST 3 people are gonna die, bad things, i hope you're happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-11-13 14:08:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11186718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axolotlNerd/pseuds/axolotlNerd
Summary: In our new world's bitterness, we will stand.





	1. As You Were

Memories were like fog in his head as he ran, panic filling his every vein. He could hear the blood roaring in his ears, feel the tears racing down his cheeks, see the world pounding around him.

He was so absolutely sure he was going to die. This couldn’t end any other way and he knew it. Eventually, he was going to run out of road to run on, run out of the adrenaline he was using to book it down the street away from whatever the fuck was chasing him.

And there it was. The end of the line for him, where a pile up of crashed cars sat, leaving him nowhere to go. He could almost picture how it happened; one of the fabled ‘attacks’ happening right inside someone’s car, making them skid and crash into the fifteen others on the road. And now, not only would those people have met their demise in the crash, it would cause one more along the way.

In a last spring of hope and desperation, he jumped, trying to claw his way up the bent metal. When the soles of his shoes skidded on the metal, another shot of adrenaline pumped through him. _Don’t let me die,_ he thought desperately. _Don’t let me die don’t let me die don’t let me die._

And suddenly, he realized, he was on top of the broken car, clawing his way up higher. Away from the monster that had been so close to catching him.

It had been so close to not working. So close, in fact, that he felt a hand violently grab at his ankle, making him scream in fear as the monster’s nails dug through his jean’s leg and into his skin. Pain throbbed through his ankle, and he cursed the fact he’d already gotten injured earlier today.

Dan turned to finally face the monster that had grabbed a hold of him, even more fear pumping through his at the sight.

Whatever tone of skin this person had, it had faded away. With countless gashes and bloody bite marks in it’s rotten skin, it growled in such an inhumane way that Dan couldn’t help but whimper as he squirmed away. Black eyes stared up at him, repeating the same words through nothing but the look it was giving. _Hungry. Hungry._

Dan used as much strength as he had left to kick the beast in the face, almost feeling one of it’s teeth break with how much force he’d used. It seemed to flinch, but not enough. He tried again, even more desperate to escape as his free foot collided with it’s face again, and again, until finally it released it’s hold of Dan’s ankle.

He was quick to scramble up the junked cars, away from the beast that had just tried to kill him. To - God, he didn’t even want to think about it - just tried to _eat_ him.

He breathed heavily, and in a desperate attempt to stop his reeling mind, thought back on how he’d even gotten into this situation.

 

He had been driving when he got the call. It was all over the news, everywhere you looked. Alerts were being sent to phones, sending directions to the nearest government facilities and places that would help.

The attacks had been happening for weeks. Reports of crazed, psychopathic murderers suddenly attacking, biting and ripping into people’s skin with so little hesitation that they’d torn good chunks out of shoulders and arms. Many were dead. Even less weren’t.

The first people that survived the initial attacks showed symptoms that doctors couldn’t pinpoint. Strongly increased appetite, violence, mood swings, hot and cold flashes, being suddenly flushed and then quickly going pale then back, and so much more. No one knew what was happening.

Doctors kept the patients alive for as long as they could, but whatever this rabies-like disease was, it was deadly. They slipped into comas they couldn’t recover from, and when they finally pulled the plug, they jumped and attacked the same way the people that attacked _them_ had. But even more vicious. Even stronger.

Some people picked up quickly and got the hell out of Dodge. Others were too skeptical. Saying that this type of thing just didn’t happen. They made a mistake, they weren’t actually dead, it’s just some weird strain of rabies, they’d find a cure soon.

But they didn’t. Whatever this disease was, it was mutating and adapting too fast for doctors to catch it. It spread terrifyingly fast, and one morning, they started evacuating. As soon as they did, Dan got in his car, ready to find Arin and everyone.

Then the call came. Dan didn’t like talking on the phone while driving, but seeing it was from Arin, it was clearly an emergency.

Static ran through Dan’s ears from the phone as a fuzzy voice came through. “..-an? Can you… you hear me?” Arin’s voice was blurred.

“Yeah, I can hear you, bad connection. What’s happening? What do we do?” Dan replied with, feeling panicked.

“-y house… Three days, get… Call everyone…” Arin’s voice kept flipping from static to words, making it hard to decipher what he was saying.

“Your house? Why do I call everyone?” He asked, trying to concentrate on driving at the same time. He finally made his way onto the highway, where it somehow felt empty. Arin’s voice suddenly came through clear.

“Just get everyone here! We’re leaving in three days, going to find a boat. You got it?” Arin said. He sounded just as frantic as Dan felt, as the whole world probably felt at that moment. Dan murmured an agreement.

“Okay, is anyone else there with you? Have you gotten in contact with-” Arin heard the voice cut off once again, groaning in frustration.

“Dan? Are you there?” He asked, heart pounding with worry. The static cleared for just a moment, barely long enough to hear the sound of tires screeching and a cut off scream. “Dan!” Arin yelled, but he knew it was hopeless.

The line cut off, everything going quiet.

 

When Dan woke up, everything felt blurry. He wouldn’t be surprised if he’d gotten concussed in the crash with the way everything looked.

No, that wasn’t his head. He realized this as he brought a shaky, nervous hand to his face, wiping the tears off his face. He wasn’t even surprised that he’d cried a bit, mostly just dazed. He looked around when he could, wondering what the weight on his back was.

That was it. He was almost upside down, and leaning against the car door. When he tried to move, a piercing pain shot through his leg, making him gasp quietly and curl into himself. His phone was smashed to pieces, sitting on the ground next to him.

“Fuck.” Dan cursed, scrambling to remove the seatbelt that binded him to the seat. “Fuck fuck fuck.” How long had it been? He remembered it being some time around one o’clock, but now he couldn’t even check the time. What even happened?

Someone in the road. No, not someone, something. It was bloody and looked like roadkill but it was standing and limping towards Dan’s car as he drove on the highway. He’d swerved out of the way, hoping to avoid hitting it before-

 _No. Stop thinking,_ he thought, _you’re going to die if you don’t get the fuck out of wherever the hell we are immediately._

He climbed up the side of his tilted car, struggling to push the car door open. He was able to crawl out as soon as he did, thank God, but still had no clue where he was going.

After looking around a bit, he saw the broken ground his car had skidded on, and following it up to the road, found his bearings once again.

The good part was that he could still walk, even with the pain the shot through his leg with every step he took. The shitty part, however, was the fact that he’d have to walk all the way to Glendale. And now he didn’t even have a phone.

He cursed for a moment before sighing, starting his long walk.

 

It couldn’t have been long after that he started getting chased by that _Monster._ And now here he was, stuck on top of a car pileup in the middle of the highway with some sort of cannibalistic dead person trying to kill him at his feet.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Dan screamed, taken aback by the sudden sound. The monster at his feet dropped to the ground, dead in a pool of it’s own blood. Dan stared for a moment before jumping to his feet, turning and running to the other side of the car crash. Who ever was out there, they had a gun, and that was reason enough for him to start running.

Somebody said something to him, but the angry tone behind it just made him even more scared. What if they hadn’t wanted to hurt him, and now that he’d started running they thought he was suspicious? Or, even worse, one of those creatures?

He kept running, trying to ignore the splitting pain in his leg. Rapid footsteps sounded out behind his own, egging him on.

And then suddenly, he was on the ground, a heavy weight of someone on his back. He knocked them off, trying to scramble away, but they’d held onto him. A cold metal touched the back of his head. The gun.

“Why did you run?” They said in a threateningly dark voice. Dan stopped breathing for a moment, trying to form an answer.

Before promptly fainting.


	2. Before The Dark

Dan was surprised when he didn’t wake up on the cold pavement. Even more so when he realized he was naked, down to his boxers being the only thing that remained on his hips. He jumped up, startled and desperate to cover himself. He looked around the dark room, trying to pinpoint where he was.

The only window had been boarded up. Not the quick, shabby looking kind you see in movies, but nicely. Someone had gotten good sized planks of wood and covered the window evenly, so only a few thin strips of moonlight could peak through. 

Had he been out that long? He could have sworn it was only minutes ago he’d been running from that beast. No, wait- Was it one of them? No, it had been a person. A person with a gun. Who must have kidnapped him and, for some unknown reason, unclothed him when he’d passed out from fear. 

Speaking of his clothes, they were folded neatly on the nightstand next to him. He quickly grabbed hold of them, dressing himself again quietly. At least whoever that was hadn’t tied him down to the bed or anything, and surprisingly, hadn’t locked the door to the room he was in. 

He walked carefully out of the room, touching his feet down on the ground softly as to not make any noise. Through the hallway. Down the stairs. Away from the boarded up door and into the kitchen, where-

“Dipshit! You’re awake!” Someone said in a hushed whisper, the insult coming out sounding more like a name. Dan whipped around, ready to fight when his eyes met yours. 

But you didn’t have your gun, or even a weapon in your hand for that matter. Your hands were on your hips, in the “I’m-older-than-you-and-you-have-to-listen-to-me” way. Your eyes were strong with an emotion Dan couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it definitely wasn’t happy. If anything, you looked more offended than anything else. Offended but relieved. 

“Do you even know how hard it was getting you here? Couldn’t you have waited until we were in a God-damned populated area before fainting?” You said. Dan stuttered, confused and feeling like a kid being scolded by his mom. 

“I- Who are you? Why was I naked? Why did you call me dipshit?” He asked in the same hushed whisper you were using. 

“Well, you weren’t really in the state of mind to tell me your name.” You said. He scoffed, looking away embarrassed. “I had to see if you were bitten. Sorry, I couldn’t quite get your consent and I didn’t want to have a Meat Bag on my hands once you decided to get up.” 

Dan found himself smiling at the term. “Meat bag?” He asked. You smiled with him, a little more friendly than you were before. 

“Yeah, calling them Zombies is too cheesy for me to handle, so I came up with a few names. Meat Bags, Runners, Stiffs, though I think ‘Monster’ is the most fitting term.” Dan nodded at your words, remembering the one that had grabbed him earlier and shuddering. 

“Yeah.” He murmured, watching as you turned to open a backpack that sat on a chair. “So, what-”

“I’m going to be asking the questions, ‘kay, dipshit?” You turned to look at him with a sly smile on your face, laughing as his face turned. 

“Don’t call me that. I’m Dan.” He said. “And can I have, like three questions? At least?”

You took a moment to consider it, before sighing. “Fine, but only because you’ve got those damn puppy eyes. Shoot.”

“Okay, why did you chase me?” He asked.

“Because you ran.” You replied with simply. “You okay with canned peaches for dinner? Don’t have too much, sorry.” You said. Dan nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s fine. Are you in a group?” He asked, feeling a bit more loose at the idea of eating food. Actually, the more he thought about, the more he realized he was starving. You pulled out two clean forks, gesturing for Dan to sit down at the table with you as you opened the can.

“Kind of. I  _ was _ in a group. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?” Your voice had turned into a bitter hiss, as you didn’t want to talk about the memory. Dan’s look softened, sitting down and understanding. After a moment of silence and a small curious look on his face, you sighed. “It wasn’t the Monsters, if that’s what you’re thinking. Just some angry guy with a needle and some crazy drug. He got me in the leg with it, and my ‘friends’ decided it’d be best to leave me.”

Dan looked surprised at your words. “Yeah, those guys weren’t your friends. So you’re making it well enough on your own?” He looked genuinely worried, and you couldn’t pinpoint why. 

“As well as I can. Well, now I’ve got you to carry, unless you’re trying to get to some people?” You asked. Dan nodded, looking a little guilty. 

“Yeah. I was trying to get to Glendale to some friends when that thing tried to get me. Actually, I got into a crash when I hit one of them in the road.” He said, stating to eat the peaches from the can with you. You nodded. 

“That explains that giant bruise on your leg. Don’t worry, I checked it, it’s just a bad bruise. Nothing broken.” You said. “Once your finished, we should get to bed. We’ve got a long walk to Glendale from here. And you better share the bed, that couch is so incredibly shitty.”

Dan laughed lightly. “You’re coming with me?”

“Are you kidding? You’ll get yourself killed out there by yourself. You don’t even have any weapons!” You said. Dan opened his mouth to speak, but you already knew what he was going to say. “I stripped you down to your undies, mister, I know you don’t have any weapons.”

Dan huffed, reluctantly admitting it was true as he chewed on a piece of fruit.

“So we’ll leave tomorrow morning, then?” You asked. Dan simply nodded in response. “Sweet. You can head upstairs anytime, I’m just going to be packing up bags and stuff.”

“Yeah, thanks. You’ll be good down here by yourself?” He asked. You replied with a simple ‘Mm-hm’, standing up to start sorting through the kitchen to grab what was left of supplies in there. Dan stood up as well, but right before he rounded the corner to go back upstairs, he paused and turned back to you.

“What’s your name?” His voice was somewhat timid, embarrassed that he hadn’t asked earlier. You smiled as you told him. 

“Now go to bed or you’re grounded,” You joked. Dan laughed, walking up the stairs to the bed. When he got the the bed, he laid down in the same spot he had not so long ago. He laid on top of the blankets, letting the heat of the unconditioned air warm him. And then, with a sigh, he was gone.


	3. Crack And Kill

Dan woke up first, and in his groggy state of mind, found himself naturally leaning into your warmth on the other side of the bed. Though his body still ached, leg most of all, he felt somehow safe like that. Warm and safe and not running. For the first time in what felt like weeks, even though it had only been a few simple days.

You shifted slightly, turning in your sleep. This made Dan realize that, even though he felt safe like this, you both probably had to go soon. By one o’clock this afternoon, you’d only have two days left to get to Glendale, and who knows how far you’d have to walk to get there?

He sighed quietly, rubbing his eyes for a moment before sitting up. He looked over at you briefly before deciding to leave you asleep for at least a little while longer. Yesterday had probably been stressful for you more than him. You deserved it.

Silently, he found his way to bathroom. He turned on the water of the sink, glad to know that there was still waterflow before shutting it off and getting undressed.

Yes, there was water. No, there was not a heater for the water. But still, Dan felt filthy. A cold shower was better than no shower, for all he cared. 

He just quickly used the bar soap on the side to was himself off, quickly rinsing through his hair with nothing but cold water and his fingers. How could a place like this, which must have been so lively only a short time ago, fall into such quick disrepair? 

Dan simply sighed in response to his own question. He showered for only another few thoughtless minutes, and after turning off the water, he realized he forgot to grab a towel. Air dry it is, then.

Suddenly, thought returned. Everyone had evacuated this large, lively city. People had scurried to boats, caught the military, made groups to trek across the country in the hopes their families might still be alive. In the short span of these last few weeks, American society was nothing like it was before.

Would this be the last time he had something relatively normal happen in his life? Is this, simply forgetting a towel after a shower, what he’d have to remember of the old life he used to live? What would happen to Avi and Deb and Dana and his nephews? Where were they now? Were they running from the aftershock of this suddenly spread infection?

Out of all the things that were coming from this storm in his head, he only hoped for one thing.  _ Please, _ he whispered to himself,  _ let them get out of this alive. Let my family be safe, please. _ He didn’t quite know who he was pleading with, and frankly he’d never exactly known, but one thing was for sure. 

Who ever they were, they better be listening.

 

After drying off, Dan quickly got dressed. With a few quick and quiet pokes into your arm, you were awake, glaring at him for a moment before rubbing your eyes and stretching. 

“Hey, sleepy head, you ready to get going?” He asked, a small smile on his face. You grumbled as you got up. “You feeling okay?” Dan asked carefully. You nodded in reply. 

“Yeah, just grumpy from waking up. You?”

“I’m good. Took a shower, but there’s no hot water.” He laughed. You stood up, making small talk with the remark of ‘You must be freezing’ as you stretched, hearing the spaces between your bones crack.

The rest of the morning was spent going over a few basic things. What you packed, what each of you would be carrying, weapons and where you’d have to stay overnight because  _ yes, the walk will take that long, we have a lot of supplies we should keep. _

Dan was reluctant in learning how to use a gun. You handed him one of the two simple handguns you had, and immediately saw nervousness in his face. “But…” He murmured. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

You sighed. “I know, I felt the same way.” 

Dan looked at you curiously. “How do you have so much experience with the whole Monster thing?” He asked. “I thought it only got bad a few days ago.”

You shook your head. “No, it got bad real fast a bit south, where I was. My parents made me go to their friend’s shooting range nearby when I was a kid, so when it all started, the people that owned the place gave me some supplies.” You explained. Dan nodded along and just continued listening as you explained how to use the pistol.

 

After finishing explaining and going over a few basic things, you were ready to go. You could feel the silent dread coming from Dan, and you felt the same way. Still, you both grabbed a pack and a gun, ready to take on the world.

Silently, you both crept into the outside world, backpacks making your legs feel heavier than before. You shifted, pulling the pack higher onto you in the hopes it might settle a bit better. 

Your steps rang out silently across the barren world. With a shudder, Dan's thoughts from that morning came rushing back, and he still wondered where the hell the rest of the world went. He tried to shake off the thought, build resolve against, it, but it plagued him.

There was no small talk. No questions, no speaking. Just walking on the abandoned roads, occasionally huffing at the weight on top of your back. Dan once again noticed, but kept his mouth shut. He knew what you'd say, and you must be at least okay it you hadn't complained yet. Right?

There was no trouble. Just the quiet shuffling of your own feet as you walked along the roads.

It was moments like these that made you wonder how your friends were doing. Sure, they night have left you in a boarded up apartment in the infected suburbs, but you weren't heartless. 

How would they be holding up? They'd been so shaken up, and you didn’t quite have the time to find a zombie apocalypse support group. There were so, so many people you cared about in that group, so many people you'd thought cared about you. Why did they just leave you? Why didn't they help you? You'd been drugged, for Christ's sake! Why wouldn't they help their friend through that?

No. You told yourself you wouldn't be bitter towards them. Not after they left you like that. They were out of your life, so what was the reason to think so negatively about them?

But you couldn't help it. Had you just not been useful enough? Would they have helped if you had brought one more gun with you? Would they have stayed had you not said that comment so long ago, the one no one laughed at?

What if you would have dragged them down? What if you were doing it with Dan now?

You were soon pulled out of your thoughts by a call of your name, hushed and quiet. "Look." Dan whispered, pointing at a beaten up CVS down a connecting road from the one you were on.

There was a guy, standing on top of it. He had golden curls, messy and frayed. He had a pistol in each hand, and was laughing maniacally as the Monsters around him banged on the sides of the building, crawling over each other trying to get to the crazed man as he shot any of them he could reach. 

"Oh my God," You whispered, watching as he shot at the Monsters with glee. When one of his guns ran out of bullets, he smashed it to the ground, trying to hit the Monsters. "Let's get going, before those things see us." You said, hurried to get out of the place as fast as possible. 

"But what about that guy?" Dan asked, looking at the crazed blond once more as his second gun ran out of bullets. He slammed his gun to the ground laughing once again. "We've gotta help him, he's not going to get out of there alive otherwise!" Dan's voice was in a whispered tone of concern, and you couldn't help but sigh. It felt like telling a kid that, no, the dog isn't coming back. 

"Dan…" You started. With almost no warning, he started marching towards the CVS, making you shout to him in a still quiet tone. "Dan! Stop trying to play hero. He's not our problem."

"Well then why did you save me, if I wasn't your problem? We can't just watch him-" You cut him off, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back. 

"Don't talk like that. You're nothing like that guy. I… Think this whole problem's gotten into his head." You said, pulling him back to the road. Dan struggled for a moment. "Dan!" You scolded. "It’s too late for him." 

Dan sighed, watching as the man continued to laugh to the sky as tears started rolling down his face. "Yeah." Dan said, defeated. "I... I think you're right."

You started walking down the road again, Dan hesitating for a moment before following. 

 

The walk fell back to silence for a long time again. 

 

An hour. 

 

Two.

 

When the third hit, you couldn't help but think of what Dan said. Did he really think you were that heartless? That you just thought he wasn't your problem?

"Hey." You said quietly, looking at Dan silently marching along the road. "I'm sorry."

This made him turn to you, a little confused. "For what?" 

"I wish we could have helped that guy too." You said, feeling the guilt sink in. "And I hope you know it was a completely different situation with you. You weren't laughing like a crazy person with a horde on your ass."

This made Dan smile, even if it was a bit morbid. "Yeah, I just... Don't want to be useless in this situation. I really want to help people, but... Yeah." He cut off the sentence, and you nodded. 

You offered him a smile, which he returned halfheartedly. You continued looking merely at the road as you watched when he spoke again. 

"Why  _ did _ you help me?" He asked. 

You stayed silent for a long moment.

"You just looked sad. And alone. And I know how that feels."

Dan remembered what you told him. That your friends left when you'd been drugged. He felt a twinge of anger in him, but he still knew that there was nothing he could do. 

"We're almost halfway there. We can find a place to stay soon if you want, or we can push it to sunset. What do you think?"

Dan shrugged. "I could probably use a break, to be honest." He said. You nodded, looking around. You'd made it to a stretch of land with very few houses on it, and the ones that were nearby didn't look like the kind of place you wanted to stay when these Monsters were constantly after you. 

"We'll walk 'till we find a good place, sound good?" You said. Dan muttered his agreement and let you both fall into silence once again. 

 

You eventually found a house with half boarded up windows. That was a lot safer than the ones with smashed glass and broken down doors. Dan was eager to go straight in through the fortunately unlocked door, but you made sure he was ready to shoot anything that came at him. He didn't seem very convinced that he should, but did anyways. 

The house was silent, though. That only made you more suspicious of the place, but Dan was convinced. He found the one bedroom, and immediately put down his pack and sat on the bed. "How about dinner? I'm starving." He said.

"Not until I finish checking the house." You said, going into another room. The bathroom, almost spotless excepting the dried toothpaste in the sink. 

You could almost hear Dan's smile as he spoke. "Fine, you do that, I'm opening a can of pineapple." 

You muttered an okay as you continued inspecting, happy to find nothing. Not even bloodstains. When you finished, you walked back into the bedroom where Dan was sitting, quietly eating pineapple from the can with a far away look on his face. You smiled and sat down next to him, gesturing for him to hand you the fork. 

“What’chya thinkin’ about?” You asked casually.

Dan shrugged. “I dunno. Family. What’s gonna happen.” He explained, looking away timidly. You nodded, silently agreeing to the sentiment.

“You want to talk about them?” You prompted.

“I guess.” Dan replied, stiffening a bit. “My parents, Avi and Deb, live in New Jersey still. I’m pretty sure Dana and her family got to them, they live closer to them than I do. I’m mainly worried about Nash and Carter though, my nephews. They’re good kids, and…” You could see the fear flash in his eyes as he paused, worst-case-scenarios rushing through his thoughts. “I don’t know what I’d do if they got hurt.”

He sounded so heartbreakingly genuine. You watched him as he sat there, scenarios running through his mind and becoming trapped. What if they didn’t make it out of this alive? What could he do being so far away? What if-

“Hey.” You put a hand on his back, rubbing it softly. “You have a whole group of friends you’ll be with tomorrow. And for now, you’ve got me. No matter how it turns out, you’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

Dan looked brightened by your words, and you felt relief sink in as he loosened up. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right, and when I get to my friends I can borrow a phone and call my sister.”

You smiled at him, taking the rest of the can of pineapple from him and starting to eat. “What are your friends like?”

 

Dan loved his friends dearly. He’d been reluctant to tell you about them at first, not wanting to offend you because of what happened with your ‘friends’. When you insisted, he very well might have gone on for hours.

He told you all about how he would die for his best friend Arin.

About how he loved to hate Ross.

About how absolutely perfect Barry was.

About how Suzy was talented and beautiful and above all else, kind.

About how patient and loving Holly was.

About how Brian was infinitely annoying but he loved him anyways.

How anyone could love anyone as much as Dan loved the people he was loved by, you had no clue. You couldn’t help but feel just a touch envious of him. Regardless, you both started to grow tired soon enough. With a sigh, you both laid down, quickly falling asleep with high hopes.


	4. Death Defying Miracle

With a choked groan coming from it’s mouth, it pinned you to the ground. You struggled, did everything you could to kick it off of you as you screamed.  **_“Dan!”_ ** You cried. Terror had gripped your every bone as you struggled against the Monster that was holding you down, gray and rotten teeth getting dangerously close to your skin. 

This sent another wave of panic through your body, making you struggle once again.  _ I don’t want to die here,  _ you thought,  _ I need to make sure Dan gets home. _

Why would you think that? Why weren’t you thinking of any of the other perfectly valid reasons you needed to stay alive? Why, on the verge of death, would you possibly be worried about how Dan could get back home?

Maybe it was because of that talk last night. He had friends that were waiting for him, and maybe you wanted to get him back to them because you didn’t. You needed to make sure he knew that fate of his family, whether it be good or bad, because you already knew the fate of your’s.

Regardless, you were still getting closer to death with every second you wasted thinking about this. You called out once again for help, and thank God for the fact you got a reply, distant and scared. Your name, being called out.

You struggled against the Monster again, but despite your desperation, your adrenaline was fading. You called out again, your voice strained against tears. Sharp pressure on your arm, teeth-

 

No, a hand. Suddenly, you were jerked awake with Dan’s hand gripped on your arm, his face marked with terror. You jumped awake, heart pounding. “What the he-”

Loud banging interrupted you, making both you and Dan jump away from the closet door that was next to the bed. Something was most  _ certainly  _ in there.

Your heart was still pounding from your dream, and now the monster in the closet. “What the  _ hell _ is happening?” You asked Dan, trying to gain some control over your nerves. Dan looked just as jumpy as you if not more. 

“That banging woke me up, and then you were crying in your sleep and-” Dan could feel his heart pounding through his whole body, suddenly hyper-aware of his whole body. You moved next to him, touching his shoulder carefully as another bang on the closet door rang out, chimed with a monstrous groan. 

“Come on, Dan, stay with me.” You tried to comfort him. If this kept up, he very well might have a panic attack. He started trying to control his breathing. “Okay, can you just- Stay there, okay? I’ll take care of… That.” Dan meekly nodded as you stood up. You grabbed your handgun, shakily moving your way to the closet and pulling open the door.

Oh, God.

No wonder this thing hadn’t busted out of the closet when it first woke up. With a rope hung around it’s neck, it meekly flailed as it tried to grab you. But whoever it used to be, it knew how to tie a knot.

You wanted to puke at the sight. Tears pricked your eyes as you forced yourself to point the gun at the Monster’s head. It groaned, reaching towards you in a last attempt to get food, because whatever this thing used to be, it had all faded away.

With a final bang, it was over. It’s groaning stopped. It was no longer looking for food. It was gone, and you hoped for good.

Without a word, you moved over to Dan, who still sat on the bed leaned against the wall. His eyes were closed with his eyebrows furrowed, and when you sat down next to him, he lied on your shoulder. You could feel a shudder run through him as he let out a sob, immediately following it with twisted, sloppy words. 

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be crying, I just-” He sniffled a bit, and you turned to pull him into your arms as he sobbed again.

“No. No, just let it all out. Do what you need to do.” You spoke into his hair, and at those simple words, he started weeping. Loudly and messily, he was weeping right onto your shoulder. You could feel yourself start to cry with him. This was just all too much.

Why, out of all people, did this have to happen to you? Dan didn’t deserve this, and you sure as hell didn’t think you did.  _ No one _ deserved this. So you let yourself sob with him. Because, the unfortunate truth was, there was nothing you could do. Nothing but fight until you couldn’t fight anymore.

 

Both of you eventually fell into a half-conscious state wrapped around each other. And while the aftershock of the crying, Dan lied there thoughtless.

“Hey,” You muttered eventually, voice rough from crying. “You feeling okay?” Dan simply hummed in response, and that was good enough for you. “We should get going soon. You can’t miss your friends, right?”

Dan looked up, observing the smile you were offering. He offered a similar one back before sitting up, stretching his still tired limbs.

“You’re gonna be okay.” Though Dan had thought it was a question, it was put like a statement. “You’ll get through this, okay?” Dan looked at you, and your gaze was full of ferocity, an odd kind of truth he couldn’t help but believe. 

“You act like you won’t.”

There was no reply this time.

 

Unlike yesterday’s walk, this one was full of talk. Happy talk, avoiding the bad things that were happening. Dan told stories of his pets, ones that had funny nicknames and sweet stories. You smiled and listened, laughing loudly because fuck whatever heard you; you had a gun.

You smiled when you saw the “You are now entering Glendale” sign, but Dan was ecstatic.

“I know where we are!” He gasped, beginning to run down the road. You tried to stop him, but now he was the one leading you, so you just ran after quickly, trying to keep up with him. Damn his grasshopper legs.

He raced down the roads, hoping that Arin and everyone would still be there. They had to have been waiting for him, right? No, they cared for him too much for that. They would wait.  _ They had to wait. _

Right as he found himself barreling towards Arin’s house, he couldn’t hold back his panic. “Arin!” He yelled. How come it was so late that the panic was settling in? Why was it only now?  **“Arin!”** He yelled again.

With a clatter, he saw the front door open and Arin come running out. You watched this happen, running after Dan as he dropped his pack on the ground to let himself actually tackle Arin. He gripped onto him so tight, you would have thought he was being hurt if not for the fact he was holding onto Dan just as tightly. 

You breathed heavily as you stopped your running, slowing down to pick up Dan’s pack and watch their tender moment. Arin was speaking, and as you got closer to hear it, you could almost feel the love.

“I was so scared, I thought that you had crashed and that you wouldn’t be here in time, We’ve been wanting to get the hell out of here but we couldn’t leave you-” He stopped talking just to breathe as Dan tightly held him.

You smiled, walking up to them as they pulled away from each other and started talking. Actually talking, not the thankful mumbling they had been muttering.

“Is everyone here? Ross? Brian?” Dan asked quickly.

“Not here exactly, but we know they they’re alive and safe. Ross, Holly, Suze, and Barry are all here. Vernon and Jack teamed up with a few other people, wanted to keep their group small. And Brian caught a plane to some military safe house with Audrey and Rachel, thank God." Arin explained.

Dan ran a hand through his hair relief rushing through him. "Thank God... I was really scared for Audrey, to be honest." He said with a laugh. Arin smiled and nodded, silently agreeing with him. He turned looked at you with a friendly look on his face.

"Who's this?" Arin asked. Dan introduced you, and you could almost see the thankfulness on his face.

"I don't mean to brag or anything, but I got Dan here alive." You said, the two laughing a small bit.

"Do you need to be going? You should stay for a little while if you can, relax for a minute. I'm Arin, by the way." You couldn't help but smile as he offered; not many people have that sort of kindness, especially not after the apocalypse begins.

"I'd love to, thanks! Dan told me all about you guys, actually." You made simple small talk as you followed Arin and Dan into the house.

It was a warm and inviting place, and the only way you could think to describe it was 'glowing'. Orange light was shed over the living room where three people were talking on a couch that just looked like home. It was really the only way you could think to describe the place. Home.

Everyone joyfully welcomed Dan in, stopping their conversation briefly to tell him that they were so glad he got home safely. You introduced yourself, and as you did, you could feel why Dan had been so eager to get back here. Everything here was so warm compared to the outside world, where there were Monsters and distant screams everywhere you went.

You ended up sitting on the couch, making simple conversation as Dan asked the black haired woman who introduced herself as Suzy for her phone. He disappeared as Arin went to talk to a shorter man with a scruffy beard and a flannel, something about supplies and how soon to leave.

You found yourself sinking comfortably deeper into the cushions as you listened to the white noise of people talking. With a few cracks coming from the spaces in between your spine and the joints of your shoulder, you laughed to yourself. Had it really been that long since you relaxed?

_ I guess it doesn’t matter, _ you thought as you closed your eyes breathing in for a moment. But there were still so many questions; where were you going to go now? You couldn’t stay with Dan, he has friends, a group who’d be weighed down by another person. What was going to happen to you? To Dan?

Your thoughts were interrupted with Arin loudly speaking.

“Okay, so is everyone mainly packed?” Everyone said their own form of ‘yes’. “We’ll be going as soon as possible.” And with that he was done. He walked up to you, a little tense in his stance.

“I’ll be out of your hair soon enough, don’t worry. I just haven’t had a chance to relax in a while.” Arin seemed to relax a bit at your words sitting down on the arm of the couch at your head.

“I was actually wondering what your plans are. You really shouldn’t be going out there without one, you know.” He said. Still, you weren’t quite sure. You didn’t have anywhere to go, nowhere you could make it by yourself. Maybe your extended family from Chicago would be holed up there still, but you were in California, how would you-

Arin noticed your thoughtfulness and interrupted. “If you need to, you can tag with us.”

“No, I couldn’t, I-”

“Seriously,” He said, looking at you a little worried. “You got my best friend back in one piece  _ and _ taught him how to use a gun, not to mention you brought food. Hell, you’re probably more prepared than most of us.”

You looked at him, a little shocked by his words. Maybe your confidence had been struck down too far when you got left behind. Maybe you’d survive this better than you thought you would. Maybe you  _ could _ help.

“I mean, if everyone else is fine with it. You guys all know each other a lot better than you know me, so I won’t hold it against you if they don’t want me here.” You said, trying to reassure Arin. He nodded, standing up to talk to people.

 

Dan had called Dana. There had been a lot of noise in the background when he called, but she explained that she had gotten everyone to a military base and, for now, they were safe.

“What about you? Where are you right now?” She asked almost somberly.

“Arin’s. We’re going to try to find a boat, all the ones near here were taken already so we’re going to try to move up along the coast to find something. Service’s probably gonna be hard to get, so…” His chest ached as the words bubbled up but caught in his throat. He didn’t want to say it. It was too real to admit he might not see his parents or sister or nephews ever again.

He didn’t have to. Dana understood. “Just-” She cut herself short and sighed. “Please don’t get yourself killed. And call next time you get the chance, okay?”

“Yeah. Same for you.” There was a long pause, neither of them turning to hang up. “I’ll miss you.” Dan’s voice was barely above a whisper, not wanting Dana to hear the tears in his voice.

“I’ll miss you too.” She sounded so much stronger, so much more prepared and ready to take this one. “You should go, you need to find a boat before they’re all gone. I’ll talk to you later, I promise.”

Dan muttered agreement before hanging up with a sigh. He wiped his misty eyes with the heel of his hand, talking to himself as he said  _ “I cry too much,” _ and then walking back to the living room.

 

Most people agreed to letting you tag along. Suzy and Barry seemed a little uncomfortable with the idea, but agreed. It was Ross who seemed most against it.

“We don’t have a lot of supplies, or much more room in the truck-” You heard him quietly argue. Arin had already thought this out, though.

“But she  _ has _ supplies, almost more than we do. She knows how to use a gun, how to get around…” Arin explained. Ross huffed, but seemed to give in.

And with that, Arin announced that you guys would be going on your way. You helped pull out the few heavy bags of supplies, loading it into the back of the pick-up truck. Arin was talking about who should sit in the back of the truck and you offered, you were the odd one out so you should sit in the back. Barry offered to sit with you, leaving the rest of the group to the car.

You both sat down in the back, listening to the car start up and hum as you pulled away, Arin driving out of the drive-way. Dan watched the house fade away, looking at it from the mirror.

How had things gotten this bad so fast? It was so strange, it wasn’t even a week ago things looked like this. Things felt so off, so turned around. Dan leaned into the door next to him, closing his eyes and hopelessly wondering if he’d wake up like this was some bad dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been way too long, guys. I just wanted to reassure you that I do know where this is going, and I do not plan on letting it die. It's just getting the words to work that's the hard part. Love you guys, thanks for your patience!


End file.
